5 prospects in the Cleveland Guardians organization to watch this season

5. Alex Clemmey, LHP

The last name on this list is essentially a combination of the prospects mentioned before. A young player out of high school, listed high on the prospect list with high draft capital invested and a lefty. Like Velazquez, there is a lot of time before Alex Clemmey makes his debut in Cleveland, but the early intrigue is drawing notice.

In the 2023 MLB Draft, the Cleveland Guardians went full high school with their approach. The aforementioned Velazquez was the first-round selection and Cleveland returned to the well in the second round for Alex Clemmey. Clemmey, a 6'6" left-handed pitcher out of Rhode Island, is the youngest player on this list, not turning 19 until midway through July.

For Velazquez, there wasn't much to go off of, only ten games. For Clemmey, there is one game. That's it. However, he was enough of a promising prospect to enter the season as the club's No. 8 prospect, and No. 2 pitcher. Only the injury-riddled Daniel Espino is higher on the list from the mound. Even fellow left-hander Joey Cantillo is lower. That's what the initial thoughts on Clemmey are, and you can't really blame anyone.

Any left-handed pitcher is going to raise eyebrows. A left-handed pitcher who is 6'6"? Eyebrows go a little higher. A left-handed pitcher who is 6'6" and was a second-round pick out of high school? Okay, definitely something to watch. Now, the first outing wasn't the best for Clemmey with Lynchburg, picking up the loss in the start and was chased from the game after just 3.1 innings while giving up five runs on four hits and four walks. He did strikeout five, for what it's worth.

With Clemmey, this is more of a wait-and-see approach. On paper, he should be a clear top prospect to follow. The first outing wasn't great, but maybe that was nerves. Either way, he's a name to follow, especially in Cleveland's pitching factory.